I keep mentioning that I am reading The Journal of Jules Renard but I’ve not said much about it. When I first began it I was disappointed because it is not whole journal entries like I expected. Instead it is snips of entries, at least what must be snips of entries unless Renard really did only write one to two sentences at a time. Given that there are some longer snips of a few paragraphs and occasionally a page or two, I assume the short entries are taken from longer ones.
Before I began the book I had no idea who Renard was other than that he was some French writer who knew lots of famous people. So far in my reading, he has written a couple of well received and popular novels and now he is writing plays that are also well received. If his creative writing is anything like his journal writing they are filled with beautiful sentences, descriptions and metaphors. Whereas in the beginning the short snippets bothered me, as I have gone along, I find myself wishing I could write a sentence like he can.
So without further ado, here are some of those snips for your reading pleasure:
- It is, when all is said and done, when faced with the subject of death that we feel most bookish.
- I don’t mind signing the petition for Oscar Wilde, with the proviso that he will give his word of honor to stop–writing.
- There are storytellers and there are writers. You can tell any story you like; you cannot write whatever you like: you write only yourself.
- A line of verse is always to a certain extent a cage for thought.
- Trees with the rough hide of a rhinoceros.
- Seated at the edge of the canal, facing the cemetery, I read to the memory of my father.
- Pigeons. Their flight has the sound of the smothered laughter of girls, of nuns in a convent.
That’s only a small sampling and I am barely halfway through the book! This book is proving to be filled with gems.
I read this several months ago (I’m guessing the publisher sent you a copy; that’s how I got it). Like you, I was bothered by the snippets, but I never really changed my opinion of the book. I suppose I should be a bit more forgiving, since the journal was never meant to be published. There were some great lines in the book, but nothing ever stuck with me. It was sort of like a pop song, or a bunch of pop songs; you listen to them on the radio, but you never recall specifics. That’s how I felt about it, anyway. Not bad, I suppose, but not memorable, either.
Julian Barnes’s book, Nothing to be Frightened of, contains a lot about Jules Renard. I kind of thought he was related distantly to Barnes but am not sure since it’s a while since I read it. But he quotes him extensively and talks about his life and his atheism. He sounds a very interesting man.
I like snippets (sometimes) – sounds like a wonderful book to dip into, like a commonplace book.
Brandon, yes, I got my copy from the publisher. It took me a long time to get used to the snippets especially after what I thought was a bad introduction. I find that reading only a page or two at a time makes a big difference.
Litlove, really? I’m going to have to get a copy of that Barnes book!
melanie, yes, it reads very much like a commonplace book and is perfect for dipping.
He belongs on Twitter, doesn’t he?
Dorothy, most definitely!
I’m not sure I agree with him about storytelling and writing. I agree that there are storytellers, and there are writers, but that writers (being the more talented of the two in my book) are the ones who can write about anything. For example, Pat Conroy is a great storyteller. Mulan Kundera is a great writer. I can see where the snippet is annoying here, because I want to ask him to explain himself more.
Pingback: Finished « So Many Books